Dear colleagues! Today, let’s discuss a particularly strange yet very real issue. The PLC field is currently facing an unprecedented “talent shortage” for high-paying positions. Isn’t that odd?
According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, by 2025, the talent gap in our country’s intelligent manufacturing sector could reach 4.5 million! That’s not a small number. Positions such as PLC engineers and industrial robot maintenance engineers have an average monthly salary exceeding 15,000 yuan, with some particularly scarce positions even offering salaries of 30,000 yuan per month. This salary sounds quite tempting at first, right? Yet, even so, it remains “difficult to find a general”!
So, why is this the case? Let’s dig deeper.
First, let’s talk about the work environment and intensity. Did you know that most people working in industrial automation have to stay in factory workshops? What is the environment like in those workshops? It’s noisy, dirty, and compared to the office environments of white-collar workers, it’s vastly different. For young people who seek a comfortable working environment, there’s hardly any appeal. Moreover, the work intensity is quite high. Engineers often have to be stationed in the workshop for long periods, on call 24 hours a day. If equipment malfunctions, they must address it regardless of day or night. Shift work is also common, making it nearly impossible to balance work and life, leading to physical and mental exhaustion over time.
Next, let’s discuss societal perceptions and career development issues. We all know that the traditional belief that “all professions are inferior, only education is superior” has a deep impact. Parents and students generally believe that technical jobs have no future, placing them at the bottom of the educational hierarchy. This mindset is detrimental, directly resulting in a significant decrease in students enrolling in related majors. Furthermore, the promotion pathways for manufacturing technicians are quite rigid, and many encounter a “technical ceiling” as they progress. Look at the internet and finance industries; their promotion ladders are clear, and there are many development paths. However, in manufacturing, we lag significantly in this regard, which is why young people are reluctant to enter this field.
Additionally, the education system does not match industry demands! With the advent of the “Industry 4.0” wave, the demand for high-skilled positions in electrical automation and industrial robot operation has surged. However, our vocational education is severely disconnected from industry needs. What is taught in schools does not meet the requirements for high-skilled talent that companies are looking for. This results in a situation where companies cannot find workers, while students cannot find jobs, creating a vicious cycle.
From a regional and industry perspective, there are also many issues. In the eastern coastal areas, even doubling salaries cannot retain workers, while factories in the central and western regions are even worse off, essentially becoming a “labor desert.” Moreover, the gap in employment attractiveness between manufacturing and service industries is too large. Today’s young people tend to prefer new business models like food delivery and express delivery; who would want to work in industrial automation? This further exacerbates the talent shortage in this field.
The issue of career development ceilings is also troubling. In the internet industry, the promotion paths are very clear. However, in manufacturing technical positions, many experience “the same job for ten years.” An engineer named Wang, aged 35, humorously remarked, “After eight years, I’m still debugging equipment; the so-called promotion is just mentoring apprentices.” Public data from a listed company shows that the ratio of technical positions transitioning to management roles is less than 15%, while for sales positions, it can reach 42%. The career path is severely blocked, so how can young people not prefer the internet industry, which offers “fast salary increases and easy job changes”?
Furthermore, the imbalance between work intensity and compensation is a significant issue. Being “on call 24 hours” has almost become an industry norm. Maintenance records from an automotive parts factory show that engineers handle an average of 13 emergency failures per month, with 67% occurring outside of working hours. But the corresponding compensation mechanisms have not kept pace! Surveys show that only 28% of companies provide a complete compensatory leave system, and overtime pay standards are generally lower than 1.5 times that of the internet industry.
PLC engineers have it particularly tough! The amount of knowledge they need to master is extensive. They must perform tasks that electricians do, and also those that electricians cannot handle. There are dozens of PLC brands, and they must be proficient in various programming and design software! With software updates happening so quickly, it’s hard to keep up! In contrast, mechanical engineers only need to master a few design software, making their job relatively easier. In short, PLC engineers have to do everything, yet their salaries are not significantly higher than others. Electrical engineers face similar challenges; they need to know a lot, do a lot, but earn little, representing a profession with a high lower limit and a low upper limit. Companies also do not provide good treatment in this regard, as most leaders do not understand electrical engineering, and the status of electrical professionals is too low, making it hard to sustain this job long-term!
In conclusion, the “talent shortage” facing high-paying positions in the PLC field is not a simple issue; it requires solutions from multiple angles!